I was able to find time for the canning drop-in again last week. For the month of September, the canning drop-in is conducted at the Minoru Seniors Center, in the kitchen of the cafeteria. The canning drop-in runs on Tuesday, from 5PM to 7PM for the month of August and September.

For last week’s canning drop-in, Karen DW of Your Secret Chef prepared Apple Ginger Chutney for sale at the Applepalooza event which will take place on Oct 2nd in the Apple Orchard at the south end of Gilbert Road, from 10AM to 2PM. It’s a celebration about apple. This is the second annual festival and it includes tasting and sales of apples, baked goods with apples and apple ginger chutney. The price of a jar of 250ml homemade organic apple ginger chutney is only $5 which is a bargain. There is also a lunch by chef Ian Lai ($5), face painting and crafts and wonderful music in the orchard.

This delicious condiment can be made with in-season apples now, or with non-seasonal ingredients any time of the year. It is delicious served with meats like chicken and grilled fish or combined with sour cream or cream cheese in appetizer toppings or sauces.

The apples are home grown and it’s perfectly alright to use the imperfect apples for canning.

This is the second canning workshop organised by Richmond Food Secure. Originally, Karen wanted to do a peach chutney. But, since the Richmond Food Tree Sharing Project collected a lot of pears that week, Karen made a change of recipe to Pear Chutney instead. Karen is very versatile and she often has to decide on what to cook in the Gilmore Park Community Meal at the very last minute depending on what she gets from the food bank, Richmond Food Tree Sharing Project and other donors.

Chutney is a relish made by combining fruits and spices, originally accompanying Indian (south Asian) meals. The Hindi word chatni means ‘to taste’.

Some chutneys use fresh ingredients and are served immediately, while others are cooked, then processed to preserve the fruits for later use. Chutney can be sweet or sour, spicy or not; or combinations of these. Like any relish, the texture can vary from smooth to chunky, depending on the creator. Typical ingredients can include combinations of mango, apple, pears, peaches, plums, herbs, citrus fruits, tomato, raisins, coconut, vinegar(s), honey, sugar, garlic, ginger, cinnamon and chilies. But generally, a chutney makes use of the ingredients which are typically at hand.

For today’s recipe, we got to sample it. Karen brought a jar of her Peach Chutney made last year for us to sample. Chutney can be served beside cheeses and cold meats, or with hot meals. Ginger/pear combinations are particularly delicious with pork or chicken.

The chutney pairs well with the tangy and creamy goat cheese. This is a great appetizer for entertaining.

The second chutney which Jane made is Tomato Chutney. Jane used canned crushed tomatoes to speed up the process. The ingredients are very similar to the Apple Chutney but Jane used a variation of sweetener and vinegar to this chutney.

The Tomatoes Chutney is great on biscuits. I found that the Tomatoes Chutney is sweeter than the Apple Chutney which I like better.

Ingredients

1 x 284 litre (100 oz) canned crushed tomatoes

3 to 4 cups chopped red and green peppers

5 medium onions, chopped

2 1/2 cups white wine vinegar

2 1/2 cups variation of sugar

2 1/2 cups golden raisins

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon celery seeds

Jane used 1 cup of palm sugar, 1 cup of large granulated sugar and 1/2 cup of pack brown sugar for the Tomato Chutney.

Jane had promised to share in the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen some chutney recipes. She brought some homemade chutneys to share with everyone some time ago and we are eager to learn how to make it.

Jane made two types of chutneys. The first chutney is Apple Chutney. According to Jane, chutney originated from India. It’s considered poor people’s food. Chutney is also a diet food as people who try to reduce fat intake can have toast with chutney instead of butter. Chutney can be eaten with anything from chicken, pork, etc.

In North America, people usually make chutney in summer and fall when fruits are in abundance. This way, North Americans can still enjoy the taste of summer in the cold winter when fruit is not available.

Sugar and vinegar is the primary preservatives in making chutney. Spices are added according to your own preferences. Here are some of the pointers shared by Jane regarding vinegar:

Hard cider has very strong alcohol

Apple cider vinegar is good for arthritis

White wine vinegar is made from green grapes

White vinegar is made from chemical, not advised to use in cooking but good for cleaning

Ingredients

3 jars 790ml (28 fl oz) apple sauce

1/2 to 3/4 litre apple cider vinegar

3 cups golden raisins

796ml onion puree from 2 lbs onion (boiled and puree)

2 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

3 cups finely chopped red and green peppers

2 tablespoon grated ginger (amount up to your preference)

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon ground all spice

I was not able to organize the ingredients for a photo shoot as the kitchen is quite havoc with things already started before I arrived. Jane had started off with the cooking of the apple sauce as making chutney needs at least 2 hours to finish cooking.